ESSEX, Vt. -
Snow covered roads forced hundreds of schools in the state to close.
It's a tough call for superintendents on days like this, who have to keep safety in mind, but also don't want to leave parents scrambling to find daycare.
---
For thousands of students across the state, Tuesday was a snow day.
"Student safety is by far the most important," Mark Andrews, Essex Superintendent said.
After watching the weather models, Andrews and several others made the tough call to keep kids home.
"For example, it didn't really come to fruition as they said it might, and that's no one's fault, it's just one of those things that you have to roll the dice and see what happens," Andrews said.
Even though there was kind of a mid day lull that had superintendents questioning their call, they had to think about the school bus ride home as well.
"We have a lot of neighborhoods that are sometimes difficult to get clear for busses," Andrews said.
Each district faces different dilemmas. Out of the hundreds of classes that were canceled Tuesday, South Burlington kept school in session.
"This is what we do, teaching and learning at the school and we gotta be open to do it," South Burlington High School Principal Patrick Burke said.
The district coordinates with the city to make driving less hazardous.
"They can really focus on making sure that the roads are clear specifically during the times that our bus routes run," Burke said.
Another reason the decision isn't made lightly is because every snow day means a school day gets tacked on to the end of the year.
"They'll get the full education here, that's for sure," Andrews said.
Most schools nowadays have an automated system that notifies parents of school closures, but on these snowy days, we also have a complete list on our website. Superintendents usually make the decision around 5 in the morning, on the day of.
